Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I watched the movie over the weekend, not because of the hype it was getting but because I am a horror fan and I really watch all mainstream Pinoy films in the cinema. The first thing I noticed was the cinematography. Visually it was very enticing, colors pops out and really looks glossy. Visually it was almost Hollywood-ish.

The first part of the film, especially the sort of car chase on the road was terrifying. I like it especially when the "haunted car" just appears and disappears from no where and then the monster or ghost, whatever you call it, sneeks out of the window. After this scene, other supposed scary parts didn't work for me anymore. One thing I personally noticed was that the audience is not given enough time to really get scared because whenever the ghost appears it transitions immediately to the next scene. Maybe it was meant to keep the audience asking for more but "the more" didn't come at all. It felt like dragging already and there were boring parts especially mid-way the film.

Storywise it was good. I mean the whole movie allows us to know the main character. It's not just about who-did-it but it was also about what propelled the antagonist to do it. So it's not your typical sadaku-ish horror but it's also a psychological thriller. It allows you think as a viewer and understand also the character. It's more like the American Horror Story TV series in the US now. Although, by the beginning of the film I had a hunch already who the "killer" was, probably because of watching too much movie of this genre. But presenting the film in three parts I thought was very clever making the narrative clearer for the viewers to follow.

Acting was good. Honestly, I don't know some of the cast members but they were good. No over-acting, if there are, I mean very negligent. And no insignificant and annoying screams, thank goodness (unlike some actress famous for doing this kind of film). But for me Carmina Villaroel was a clear standout even though she only appeared on the third part of the film.

There were funny parts of the movie, I don't know if it was intented to be funny but it made the people laughing. It was the line that Marvin's character said to Carmina, "Akala ko hindi ka tutulad sa nanay mong malandi...?" Another funny scene was when they were having dinner. Marvin instructed his son to go upstairs after Carmina scolded the boy.. and they have not even started eating yet! Another scene that got a really loud reaction from audience was when the boy had to clean up Marvin's vomit. All you can hear from the audience were a mix of yucks and ewwws.

Over-all I would say the movie is good. But for me it was not the scariest. I did not leave the movie house gripping with fear contrary to what they were saying. It did not make me sleep with the lights on. No terrifying scene lingered. Ironically, what left an impression on me were funny scenes and the scenes with Carmina. One thing that made this film different for me was that it tried to veer away for the almost becoming conventional way of doing Asian horror, that of coming up with a Sadaku-like ghosts. Again, it was visually appealing but not hair-raising as I expected it to be.

Reaction:Angelicopter: Oh my gulay this is not amazing...Jackie: kinilabutan ako...Carlo: her presence is very drainingArthur: ..gulo to kasi di sila gusto ng girlsFilo: our team is perfect as it is...

About Me

i am an artist by heart, educated as philosopher, trained to be a missionary. i love to travel, meet different people of different culture and beliefs. that given, i love talking to people, but at times chooses to be silent and alone.. petty quirks of being "eric".